The body of the mandible is the horizontal, U-shaped part of the lower jaw that carries the lower teeth in its alveolar part and joins the ramus on each side at the angle. Its outer surface has the mental protuberance and mental foramen, and its inner surface has the mylohyoid line and mental spines.
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| Landmarks |
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| Ossification | Ossifies in membrane lateral to Meckel cartilage from a centre appearing at about the sixth fetal week; the two halves fuse at the symphysis during the first year of life. |
Fractures of the body and parasymphysis often occur with a second fracture at the opposite angle or condyle. The inferior alveolar nerve runs in the mandibular canal within the body, so fractures and dental surgery can cause lower lip and chin numbness. After tooth loss the alveolar part resorbs, and the body may thin enough to fracture easily in older people.
A fracture through the tooth-bearing part of the jaw causing malocclusion, step deformity and possible numbness in the mental nerve area.
Exposed dead bone, most often in the mandibular body, after dental extraction in patients on bisphosphonates or denosumab.
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